Exo (stylized as EXO; /ˌɛkˈsoʊ/ ek-soh; Korean: 엑소) is a South Korean-Chinese K-pop boy band produced by S.M. Entertainment. Formed in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea, Exo comprises 12 members separated into two subgroups, Exo-K and Exo-M, performing music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively.
Exo's debut single, "Mama", was released in April 2012.[1][2] The single was a moderate success; Exo-M's version topped mainland Chinese music charts after only one day of release, and Exo-K's "Mama" music video reached to number seven on YouTube's Global Chart.[3] The group's two albums, the 2012 debut EP Mamaand the 2013 comeback studio album XOXO, were major commercial successes, selling over 1.5 million units in total worldwide.[4][5] With XOXO, Exo became the youngest boy band to win Album of the Year at the Mnet Asian Music Awards,[6] and the fastest-selling K-pop artist in twelve years.[7] The lead singles off XOXO, "Wolf" and "Growl," were hits, landing first place trophies on music shows from all three of Korea's major free-to-air broadcast stations.[8] The latter also peaked at number three on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart.[9]
In May 2014 member Kris has started a lawsuit against S.M. Entertainment to nullify his contract, as of the submission date of the lawsuit the band promotes with 11 members.[10][11]
The group received numerous rookie awards in 2012, and has since won over forty awards.
EXO
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"EXO SHOWTIME"
EXO-K
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On February 15, 2012, Suho was introduced as the tenth member of Exo.[5] Pursuing a degree in acting, he currently attends Korea National University of Arts and is ranked in the top 50 of 400 students at the school.[6] He enjoys listening to funk rock and has expressed his admiration forSuper Junior's leader, Leeteuk, and TVXQ's leader, U-Know Yunho.[7]
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Baekhyun was one of the last members to join Exo,[3] and was revealed as the group's ninth member on January 30, 2012.[10] Byun has cited Rain as one of his main influences and hopes to emulate Rain's "well-rounded" success.[9]
In June 2014, Baekhyun and fellow S.M. artist Taeyeon were reported to be dating, and later confirmed by SM Entertainment, to have been currently in a relationship since February.[11]
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Park Chan-yeol (Korean: 박찬열; Hanja: 朴燦烈), better known as simply Chanyeol, is the main rapper of the group.[12]Chanyeol was born on November 27, 1992 (age 21) in Seoul, South Korea. He attended Hyundai Chungun High School in Dong-gu, Ulsan and was admitted to a private acting institution when he was sixteen years old.[4] Chanyeol has been a fan of musical instruments since his primary school years and has cited the film School of Rock to be his main influence in inspiring him to learn the drums.
During middle school, Chanyeol formed the band "Heavy Noise" with his friends.[3] After winning second place in a televised uniform modeling contest in 2008,[13] Chanyeol successfully auditioned for S.M. Entertainment through the S.M. Casting System. During this time, he was involved in his school's band, "Seiren."[3] He made several media appearances prior to his debut with Exo, includingTVXQ's music video, "HaHaHa Song" with Suhoand Kai in 2008, and in 2010, he starred in the music video of Girls' Generation Japanese single, "Genie". He was also featured in Girl's GenerationTTS TWINKLE along with Kai, Sehun, And Baekhyun.
Chanyeol was the twelfth and last member of Exo to be formally introduced to the public, on February 23, 2012. He cites Jason Mraz and Eminem to be his biggest influences.[14] Chanyeol guest starred in the second episode of the 2013 sitcom, Royal Villa, with fellow member Sehun. He also appear in K.Will's M/V You Don't Know Love with actress Lee Hojung. Chanyeol was also a member of SBS's Law of the Jungle in Micronesia and is a current member of Roommate.
D.O. was formally introduced as the eighth member of Exo on January 30, 2012.[10] His stage name is derived from his family name, Do.[17] He seesYoo Young-jin, S.M.'s music producer, as his role model.[18] In July 29, 2013, he was featured in f(x)'s song "Goodbye Summer", a track from their album Pink Tape. D.O. will also be having his feature film debut in the upcoming movie Cart.
Kai (Korean: 카이) was born Kim Jong-in (Korean: 김종인; Hanja: 金鍾仁) on January 14, 1994 (age 20) in Seoul, South Korea. The second Exo member to sign with S.M. Entertainment, Kai joined the company after winning in the 10th S.M. Youth Best Contest in 2007, at thirteen years old. He said that it was Shinhwa who inspired him to be a singer.[16]
Known as the group's "lead" dancer, Kai has been dancing since he was eight years old and was trained in jazz dance and ballet. He stated that his parents initially wanted him to learn Taekwondo and the piano, but he quickly lost interest in both. After watching The Nutcracker when he was in fourth grade, Kai expressed his wish to study ballet professionally. He developed his current technical expertise of hip hop, popping, and locking after joining S.M. Entertainment.[16] In 2008, Kai made a brief appearance in TVXQ's music video, "HaHaHa Song" along with Exo-K's Suho and Chanyeol.
Kai was the first of twelve Exo members to be formally introduced to the public through teaser trailers. His first teaser was released on December 23, 2011.[19] He appeared in twelve more trailers released in the next three months, and had his first televised performance with Exo-M's Lu Han, Chenand Tao on SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. Kai graduated from School of Performing Arts Seoul in early 2012.
Kai is also associated with the promotional singing group, Younique Unit, with Exo-M's Lu Han, and S.M. Entertainment's dance group, S.M. The Performance, with Exo-M's Lay. and TaeTiSeo's Twinkle MV with Sehun
Oh Se-hun (Korean: 오세훈; Hanja: 吳世勳), better known as simply Sehun, was born on April 12, 1994 (age 20) in Seoul, South Korea. Sehun was scouted by a casting agent on the streets when he was twelve, and was finally cast into S.M. Entertainment in 2008, after going through four auditions in two years. On January 10, 2012, he was introduced as the fifth member of Exo.[20] Sehun made a brief appearance in Girls' Generation-TTS's music video for "Twinkle" alongside fellow members Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kai. He graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul in February 2013. Sehun guest starred in the second episode of the 2013 sitcom, Royal Villa, with Chanyeol.
EXO-M
Wu Yifan (Kris Wu)[21] (Chinese: 吴亦凡; pinyin: Wú Yìfán; Jyutping: Ng4 Jik6 Faan4), mononymously credited as Kris(Korean: 크리스), is the leader of Exo-M[2] and performs as the group's rapper. Born Li Jiaheng (Kevin Li)[22] (Chinese:李嘉恒; pinyin: Lǐ Jiāhéng; Jyutping: Lei5 Gaa1 Hang4) on November 6, 1990 (age 23) in Guangzhou, Guangdong,China, Wu also holds Canadian citizenship. Wu attended Guangzhou No. 47 High School, Point Grey Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver, Canada and was the captain of the basketball teams for both this schools. He would have pursued a professional career in basketball.[23]
In 2007, at age 16, Wu auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's Canadian S.M. Global Auditions, which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia on October 14, 2007. He was attending Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School at the time of the casting. After passing the auditions, he moved to South Korea the following year and became an S.M. trainee. Prior to joining EXO, he made an appearance in an intermission video for the Girls' Generation Tour in 2011.
Wu was introduced as the eleventh member of Exo on February 17, 2012.[24] He speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Korean.
As of May 15, 2014, Kris has filed a lawsuit against SM Entertainment to terminate his contract, which is based on a disagreement towards a disagreement with activities between himself and SM Entertainment.[25] He has been inactive for Exo activities since his lawsuit.
Xiumin (Chinese: 秀敏; pinyin: Xiùmǐn; Korean: 시우민), born Kim Min-seok (Korean: 김민석; Hanja: 金珉錫) on March 26, 1990 (age 24), is from Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. In 2008, at age 18, he was cast into S.M. Entertainment after winning second place in the S.M. Everysing Contest. Xiumin was formally introduced as the seventh member of Exo on January 26, 2012.[26] He also practices taekwondo and kendo.[23] Xiumin was featured on the music video of "Gone" by JIN, alongside actress Kim Yoo-jung.[27]
Lu Han (Chinese: 鹿晗; pinyin: Lù Hán; Korean: 루한), born on April 20, 1990 (age 24), is from Haidian District, Beijing, China. He graduated from the Beijing Shida Middle School and attended the boarding school, Beijing Haidian Foreign Language Shi Yan School, before leaving for South Korea to attend Yonsei University as an exchange student. Lu Han had auditioned for JYP Entertainment's Chinese global auditions in 2008,[28][29] but failed to get cast.
While studying in Seoul, Lu Han was scouted by an S.M. Entertainment casting agent, who recommended him to audition for the company's annual S.M. Casting System. His audition was successful, and Lu Han joined Exo in 2011. Lu was the second of the twelve Exo members to be formally introduced to the public, on December 27, 2011.[30] Along with Tao, Chen, and Exo-K's Kai, Lu Han made his first televised performance on SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. Lu Han currently attends the Seoul Institute of the Arts majoring in Applied Music. Lu Han is also associated with the promotional dance group, Younique Unit, with Exo-K's Kai. On April 23rd Luhan was announced to be cast in Once Again, 20s a Chinese re-make of the Korean movie Miss Granny.[31] Shooting started May 20th and the film is expected to be in theaters in late 2014.[32]
Lay
Lay (Korean: 레이), born Zhang Yixing (Chinese: 张艺兴; pinyin: Zhāng Yìxīng) on October 7, 1991 (age 22), is from Changsha, Hunan, China. Lay was a local child star in Hunan, having won third place in a competition hosted by the popular TV program, Star Academy (明星学院) in 2005. He also appeared in an episode of Yue Ce Yue Kai Xin (越策越开心) and Liu Na's variety show, Na Ke Bu Yi Yang (娜可不一样) that same year.
Lay joined S.M. Entertainment in 2008 after a successful audition with the company's global casting system in Changsha. At the time of the auditions, he was 16 years old and was studying for his college entrance exams.[23] In 2011, prior to debuting with Exo, he briefly worked for SHINee in their concert tour as Jonghyun's dance replacement. Lay was formally introduced as a member of Exo on January 17, 2012.[33] He is also associated with the dance group, S.M. The Performance, with Exo-K's Kai. For the June 19th edition of "Music Billboard Charts," Lay was a special temporary MC.[34]
Chen (Korean: 첸) is the lead vocalist of Exo-M. Born Kim Jong-dae (Korean: 김종대; Hanja: 金鐘大) on September 21, 1992 (age 21) in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Chen has one older brother, Kim Jong-deok. Chen was the last Exo member scouted by S.M. Entertainment; he auditioned for S.M. Entertainment through the company's S.M. Casting System in early 2011, at age 18.
Chen was the fourth member to be formally introduced to the public, on December 29, 2011.[35] Along with Lu Han, Tao, and Exo-K's Kai, Chen had his first televised performance at SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. In February 4, 2014, SM Entertainment revealed that SM The Ballad will make a comeback with new members, Chen being one of them. He will sing the Chinese version of the title track, Breath.[36]
Tao (Korean: 타오), born Huang Zitao (Chinese: 黄子韬; pinyin: Huáng Zitāo) on May 2, 1993 (age 21), is from Qingdao,Shandong, China. He attended Humen Centre Primary School, one of the most prestigious primary schools in Qingdao, and Qingdao Middle School. Tao is a martial artist, and has been practicing Wushu since he was five years old.[37] He competed in several martial arts championships in Qingdao, and won the "Top Rap Award" at Beijing 3rd Annual Collage Street Jam.[citation needed] In 2010, Tao appeared as an extra in the ninth episode of the mainland Chinese idol drama, That Love Comes (欢迎爱光临).
Tao auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's global casting system in Qingdao and became an S.M. Entertainment trainee in late 2010. He was one of the last Exo members to join S.M. Entertainment and had a training period of less than one year.[23] On December 27, 2011, Tao was formally introduced to the public as the third member of Exo.[38] Along with Lu Han, Chen, and Exo-K's Kai, Tao made his first televised performance on SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011.
EXO: The Evolution
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